(COLUMBIA, Tenn. - Feb. 24, 2012) - - - Having a greater impact than its creator ever imagined, the Fibonacci Sequence has become one of the most mysterious and amazing mathematical phenomena to appear in math, science, art and nature. Columbia State Community College's Lyceum Committee, in conjunction with the Science, Technology, and Mathematics Division, will host a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) lecture titled The Hidden Treasures of the Fibonacci Sequence.

Michael Darrell, assistant professor of mathematics at Columbia State, will present the lecture on Wednesday, Feb. 29 at 3:30 p.m. in the Ledbetter Auditorium in the Clement building on the Columbia campus.

Darrell earned Bachelor of Science (1992) and Master of Science (2003) degrees in mathematics from Middle Tennessee State University. During his career, he has been affiliated with the American and Tennessee Mathematical Associations for Two-Year Colleges in a variety of ways as well as teaching the entire spectrum of mathematics courses offered at Columbia State. He has been an educator at Columbia State since 2004.

"The Fibonacci Sequence is essentially a list of numbers (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13) where each number after the first two ones is found by adding the previous two numbers. (2=1+1, 3=2+1, etc.) Tradition has it that this list of numbers first appeared as an answer to a problem in a mathematics text, Liber Abaci, written in the year 1202 by an Italian mathematician whose nick-name was Fibonacci. The actual history of this sequence of numbers is older and more interesting than first appears. Additionally, this 'answer to a math problem' appears in many different places and ways, including in biology, music and architecture." Darrell said. "The lecture I will be giving will examine the history of this sequence, and some of the places where these numbers appear. The lecture will be for general audiences. No formal background in mathematics is needed."

This lecture was arranged by the Lyceum Committee as a continuation of the third season of STEM-type lectures held at the college for students, employees and the public. The lecture is free and open to the public.